up next on the second look.

they called them a dynasty. the san francisco had theres of the 19 l 0 -- san francisco 49ers of the 1980s. all straight ahead on a second look. good evening and welcome to a second look. i'm julie haener. tonight the san francisco 49ers, every year all 32 nfl teams start with the same goal, get to the super bowl and win it. but very few have a chance to really do that. last year no one thought the 49ers were one of those teams until they came within one game of playing in the biggest game of the year. jim harbaugh talked about the transformation and imperfection. you can see it again this year. it's not the first time that it has happened for the 49ers. in 1979, the 49ers hired another stanford head coach to move up the peninsula and to lead their team. now bill walsh, he would guide the niners to three super bowl wins. when walsh died in 2007, ktvu

joe fonzi brought us this look back at his career. >> reporter: his greatest football accomplishments came as the coach of the 49ers, but bill walsh's bay area roots run much deeper. born in fremont and a graduate of san jose state, his first coaching job was at fremont's washington high. he advanced to the staffs of both cal and stanford before landing in the nfl in 1996 with al davis and the raiders. the expansion cincinnati bengals were next on the list where he served under the legendary paul brown and an old school football man who passed on walsh when it was time to name a successor, leaving the bengals for a year in san diego before getting his first chance as a head coach. >> and there were those in the league that did not think i was head coach material to let everybody know it, including paul brown, who i had worked for. so it was difficult all the way through. then my big break, of course, they came at stanford

university. >> paul brown's loss was stanford's game. under walsh, they won successive bowl games. parallelling the 49ers team, declining to the league's depths. under the new owner, unpopular general manager, they went through three coaches in two years. >> they asked me when i first went to stanford if i would be the head coach of the 49ers. of course, i had nothing to do with it. but then they decided that they needed to revamp the whole thing and i was right there. and we met. and we made it happen. >> reporter: but not right away. walsh's first team equaled the franchise record for the fertility at 2-14. and the following season, the ninners were 6-10. then in 1981, the 49ers, they didn't stop until they had won the city of san francisco's first world championship. >> to win it all, it means a difference. and to our society if you come in second that it is not that

good, you know. it might be years later, but it's at that moment that you're the loser if you lose that game. and we managed to win those games all the way on through. >> reporter: now, three times under walsh, they won the ultimate game. from the catch, joe montana to dwight clark to the nearly perfect season of 1984 to walsh's final super bowl championship, and his team executed the routine along with the spectaculars. they earn maybe the greatest reputation in any endeavor. a group that you just can't ever count out. >> that's the thing that they had a unique ability. when they got tight and close, we didn't do things that we were pulling from the new stuff that we were just playing for them. we went right back to the fundamental of offense. that's why we had so much success in that time. >> bill walsh is the one guy in my life that believed in me when i didn't even believe in myself. i mean i didn't know if i could play or not. he's the one that wanted to

draft me, all the scouts were saying that he will be there. you can sign him as a free agent that you don't need to draft them. but he saw something that he believed in. and i'm not sure that my parents believe that they could make it. very appreciative and thankful that, you know, i have had a guy like bill walsh. >> under walsh, the expectations, they became super bowl or nothing. and he is one of the rare people that could say he left the perfection on top, but not without a price to pay and with a slight disregret. >> maybe it was sort of emotionally exhausted to take a month or two off. but you can't do that in the nfl. i could come back and coach a longer time and probably had done okay. but i was exhausted at that point. >> the challenge is for walsh, it never really stopped with a stint on the network tv analyst. returned to the coaching job at stanford and went back to the 49ers as the general manager. his battle with leukemia was

made public last fall and ultimately took their toll today. but to rock that battle, his players and friends marveled at the way that walsh fought to the end. >> and right to the end, you know, you would see them. and you know, he would bring his hands up. you know, to fight. like he was literally fighting. still to come on a second look. joe montana talks about his years as the 49ers quarterback. >> the one lady said, it must be nice to be famous. i said yeah until they follow you into the bathroom, you know? and they don't leave you alone in there either. >> a little bit later, widely considered the best wide receiver in nfl history. a look back at the career of jerry rice.

tonight on a second look, the glory days of the san francisco 49ers. joe montana was their quarterback. while he wasn't the biggest or fastest guy, maybe not even the best passer, all he did was win.

in 2000, the year that joe montana was elected to the pro football hall of fame, ktvu joe fonzi brought us this story of his career. montana is rolling out the right. looking towards the end zone, throws it past them there. caught by clark. and right back at it as they have it for the 49ers! >> no single event is what they were and what they would become when joe montana's touchdown pass right there in the 1982 nfc championship. they now know it as the catch. that day, it was like nothing that i have witnessed in 22 years. and just the spontaneous explanation for them ignited. also introducing the bay area here for the new young heros. >> and we just knew that we had to keep pressure on them. we didn't want to give them momentum. >> i just had one part of it, you know, for all of them. >> some thought that they were actually throwing the ball

away. but today, he says even back in summer camp he had them in the park working on that play. >> i'm office dead tired for them. he is tired to run the routes all day. we know what the importance of the play would be at the end of the game. >> they had an equally tough time grasping the reality of the situation. they took home pieces of the field. and the parties, spilled into the streets. the usually skeptical city of san francisco, they were hungry for their first world championship of any time, becoming a city of believers. even the most sophisticated were hopping on board this exciting ride. >> two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate? niners, niners, go, go, go. >> joe, i'm giving them a chance. >> because you're in the game. and i know that you're going to

win with you in the game. >> and from the neighborhood garages to the sports bar and north beach to the gay bars here. at last they had something here on super bowl sunday. just two seasons removed from that record here, the 49ers, they brought them a world championship. the young owner, the innovative coach joined the elite. but they turned out in numbers that no one else anticipated to take on in that moment. >> will the san francisco 49ers please stand? [ cheering ] that scene on january of 1982, it is something that both montana and all of them recalled vividly to this day. >> when we came out to market street and, i mean, you know, i

was just like wow. i mean, i couldn't believe it. you couldn't, they will never have that like that again. >> yes. that's brave. >> and it was unbelievable. because everybody felt like they won. >> the owner's words that day proved pathetic. >> we are number one and we intend to stay number one. >> reporter: and they pretty much did. the second super bowl came three years later. it was actually played at home. fans were taking winning for granted. >> that's all you need to do is to run the super bowl every year. >> they had the same expectation. >> you didn't celebrate the win unless it was the super bowl because you knew there was another week and we're out here to win the game. that's what we're getting paid to do. >> so winning was like going to work every day.

by the middle of the decade, they had taken on football as they were the bay area rock stars. while the game's expert saw montana and someone redefining them on the field to his teammates, he was just one of the guys. >> they all liked him because he cared about everybody. there wasn't one guy that even cared about him. >> the guy that couldn't lose a game, he couldn't play the game. back surgery kept montana out of a good chunk of that season, but his legend only grew when he returned to the field ahead of schedule, to again take the 49ers to a win. the end of the decade was either 49ers win two more super bowls. one featuring another patented comeback. they were just two of the five players who were there for all

four championships. they had joined the ranks of the bay area most famous people. for montana, that didn't come without a price. >> the one lady said it must be nice to be famous. i said yeah until they follow you into the bathroom, you know? [ laughter ] >> and then they don't leave you alone there either. the kids could never have much fun when i was around because there was always other people coming around. then i finally decided that i'm not going to be a prisoner of my own home. >> and he was inducted into the hall of fame. but in today's nfl, they may never again be realized. no one knows that better than montana. >> and it is difficult now, you know, with the salary caps and the free agency to keep the team together that long anymore. and they tried as long as they possibly could with every means that they could. and it is like, you know, you keep borrowing money from the bank. some day you need to pay it back with interest and it is time to pay back. that's what they are doing

right now. >> today they paid montana a lot back with their incredible careers. a time when the bay area, they thought the 49ers could be champions every year. when we come back on a second look, remembering the career of 49ers wide receiver jerry rice. and a bit later the only super bowl ever played in the bay area. and every 49er guy knows who won it. el

they call the the san francisco 49ers a dynasty. and he was considered too slow for the nfl. for showing the draft posted by

jerry rice, at the 16th player overall. for people saying there, to the smaller school. you know to make the guy the number one choice. >> but jerry, he proved to everyone that he belonged, setting 12nfl records including 207 touchdowns. >> it's a great thing. it's the all-time touchdown, that's what he did every day in the press. >> joe and i had a chemistry, you know, it was just amazing. >> we lived for that perfect game. we never got to the perfect game though. the greatest receiver, it might be the greatest football player ever seen. i never played the perfect game. to me that kind of wraps up who he is. >> reporter: rice was also durable, playing 189 straight games before a major injury in

1997. >> we played in the super bowl with that injury. so he was accustomed to being able to perform with pain. >> and you can arguably call him the greatest athlete that has played in the nfl. >> reporter: but after 16 seasons and three super bowl rings, the 49ers released the 38-year-old jerry rice. >> and fortunately i was able to go across the bay to the oakland raiders to have a couple good seasons there. >> after a year in seattle, jerry rice ended his 21-year in the nfl career. some say he stayed too long. >> i chose to play this game and i think it was the only way for me to decide when it was time for me to decide when to walk away. >> did you tried to get every last drop out of the orange. like i don't want a drop left. and i admire that. many times i thought maybe i had some left and i left back in the day. but i mean hey, he wanted every

drop out of it. i loved that about him. >> his work ethic never changed. every time he touched the ball, he would run and score a touchdown. typically as a wide receiver, you need to turn up the field and run 10 yards with this team and then run 10 yards and come back. every time he touched it, whether it was 9 or 90 yards, he kept scoring the touchdown. you know, look at the rookie trying to impress the coach, but no, this is what he does. >> it's so funny. one off season we were training so hard that we had to separate ourselves. >> i see him run down the hill. i still enjoy it. >> i remember running from 200- meter workouts. we were suppose to run in there like, you know, between 24 to 26. and jerry for some reason, he kept running 22s, 23s. and then, you know, i wouldn't want him to smoke me. jerry, we need to slow down, you're running to fast. >> when it came to

conditioning, i mean, they couldn't keep up with these guys. that's how good they were. i mean these guys, they worked at it and they made all of us better because that's just who they are. >> i think the 49ers, they really fed off of that. i mean you would go to practice and jerry rice would catch a pass and run it all the way to the end zone and score. then pretty soon roger craig was doing that. i mean the next guy too. and so i think that it really helped the whole team. >> because he never really rest, ever. and i mean ever. the day after the super bowl. he'll get up, he'll do his workout. i mean, you know, do his workout, make sure that he has done his sprints. you know, this is in the hotel. and in miami after the super bowl. when we come back on a second look. it's the only super bowl ever played in the bay area and the hometown team, they came away with the trophy. look at you guys with your fancy-schmancy

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with a new 49ers stadium under construction in santa clara, they are working hard to bringing the super bowl here in 2016. it would not be the first. in 1985 the san francisco 49ers took on the miami dolphins at the old stanford stadium. here is a portion of our coverage from that 49ers victory on january 20, 1985. >> it has become more of a spectacle than a game in the newly decorated stanford stadium, reflecting that just as soon as we walked in the door. two giant diamond vision screens apparent. and all the pageantry of a college bowl game. that of course entertained the early arriving fans, as they soon took a look at some of the players who wondered out of the locker room, beginning to warm up just a little bit. finally something to cheer about. the introductions of the starting lineups.

and at 3:17 pacific standard time, we had a pick up. it wasn't long after that that the 49ers would make a spectacle of themselves. taking a 7-3 lead and the joe montana pass to the unexpected hero, carl monroe who scored the season's first touchdown. back in detroit, it seemed so long ago. everyone expected a big shootout. it looks like they might get it as they would show you the touchdown. but he busted on through again for the 49ers. one of his three touchdowns, and the 49ers, they were in the lead for good as the most valuable player, joe montana took the 49ers into the locker room, 28-16 leader. and san francisco, they were able to enjoy a rather explosive half time show.

and after that brief entertainment period, the 49ers defense, they took over as they would be the talk and the toast of the town as the lines, they put the consistent pressure on dan marino, the likes of which he has never seen before. that enabled the secondary to pick off a couple of his passes. eric wright and carlton william doing so to feel that game and to open up the way for a quick celebration. >> the 49ers did lose one game this year, but it's been a perfect season. nonetheless as they rode their cable cars. reporting from stanford, i'm mark ibanez for ktvu channel 2 news. >> as you might expect following the 38-16 blowout by the niners against the

dolphins, not incidentally $64,000 per man. here is a taste of what it was like. >> and joe montana, he's the best there is. i was a little upset to see that, you know, they were talking about marino more than joe. dan marino is a great quarterback, but all year long from what i could see, he filled it up into the crowd to let the two guys go get it. but joe montana is the kind of quarterback that takes care of you. he's going to throw it away or run it himself and that's what he did today. >> he tried to throw the ball down the field. sometimes it just happens so fast and a big hole opens up in front of me. you know, sometimes i would look down the field and just take off. >> we would tackle him or get pressure off of him to give him a little chance. why am i getting hit, you know, when you're a good quarterback you're getting hit, but you only get sacked 14 times all year, it's sort of frustrating,

especial lit big one when you're getting tagged every once in a while. >> and that is the milestone for the 49ers career. >> when did you feel like the game turned around? >> when we stepped on the field. i knew that we had them as we were ready. we were hungry. we were hungry and i was hungry. >> i know how bad you wanted a world championship. does it taste as sweet as you thought? >> it tastes even sweeter. >> san francisco is going crazy tonight and for good reason. their team became the best team today. the new champions of professional football. ♪ [ music ] [ cheering ] >> for the second time in the last four years, the 49ers are on top with another convincing super bowl win for joe montana, coach bill walsh and the entire team. one spontaneous demonstration broke out all over the bay area. celebrations fueled by the seemingly endless touchdowns in today's big game. jim fowler is standing by live

where if has become the latest situation. what's the situation on the streets right now? >> elaine, it is great. we're live at north beach at columbus and broadway where apparently sanity has been suspended. [ cheering ] >> and that's